Illinois State may add an engineering program

With engineers in short supply, Illinois State University President Larry Dietz says his school may add an engineering program.

The school's faculty is in conversations with unspecified companies about the idea. While several universities in the state already offer undergrad degrees in engineering, there may not be enough, he says. "With all the graduates that they're producing, we're still not meeting the needs of companies in Illinois that want to hire engineers so we're looking at the possibility of offering an engineering program because there's a need for that," Dietz said in an interview this week.

Faculty at ISU, which has engineering courses, but not a degree program, have been visiting other institutions as they research the possibility, Dietz said. ISU, which is in Normal, about 140 miles southwest of the Loop, is the third-largest state university in Illinois, with 20,784 students this year.

Among Illinois public universities that offer engineering programs is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which U.S. News & World Report ranks sixth in the nation. Northwestern University's program was ranked 13th this year. Other state schools with engineering programs include the University of Illinois at Chicago, Southern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University. Illinois Institute of Technology also has a college of engineering.

"It appears that given our faculty expertise and other information they have gleaned from their visits that engineering systems, engineering physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and civil engineering are our most likely additions at this time," Dietz said in a follow-up email. "We would most likely phase those programs in over time. We are still in the early stages of our planning processes. We would need additional assistance from the private sector as well."

In light of overall shrinking enrollment and a state funding squeeze, the Civic Federation and some state officials have suggested Illinois needs to consolidate its higher education institutions. But Dietz argues that's the wrong response if demand is growing. "Is duplication OK? Well it's OK, as long as the workforce needs aren't being met," Dietz said in justifying a case for that possible addition.

ISU's funding per student has suffered more than other universities in the state, as it has maintained its headcount despite funding declines in recent years—ISU's enrollment has fluctuated between 20,200 and 21,310 over the past eight years; its fiscal 2018 appropriation was $65 million. The school hasn't had sufficient funds for a planned $54 million fine arts center or a college of nursing. There have been so few infrastructure improvements that students have sometimes been forced to sleep in conference rooms and student lounges during the first few weeks of school because the university's dorms are full.

Dietz, who has been president since 2014, says he doesn't know when the engineering feasibility study will be completed. He declined to specify which companies are involved in the talks.

ISU's plan would have to be approved not only by its own board of trustees, but by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.